Pain is Not Always Physical
by KnightwingYJ
Summary: He may not have been able to stop, but he sure as heck wasn't going to let this go unnoticed. Warning: containes mention of suicide


**This came to my head as I was watching Cyberbullying. I don't condone bullying in any shape or form. Please read the author's note at the end.**

Pain shot through his lungs and legs, but he dare not stop. His heart pumped adrenaline through his veins, propelling him faster and farther than he's ever gone. He had to get there, before it was too late. Dick has never felt so afraid in his life. And it was all because of that one phone call.

Dick was sitting at home, doing homework and listening to Imagine Dragon's Demons, when his phone rang. Putting down his pencil, he grabbed his phone.

"Hello?" There was no answer. "Hello?" he said again.

"Dick," said a soft voice.

"Cassie?" Dick said puzzled.

"Dick," Something in her voice made him freeze.

Dick sat up. "Cassie, what's wrong?"

"Dick, I'm so sorry." She said with a slight slur. She sounded like she was sedated.

"Cassie, what is it? What's wrong?" Dick asked urgently.

"Please don't hate me."

Dick gave a nervous laugh. "I could never hate you." He paused, waiting for her to continue. "What is this about Cass?"

"…why do they hate me?"

"Why does who hate you?"

"Everyone, they all hate me Dick and now I hate me. I hate me so bad." There was a pause. Dick could feel his heart pounding in his chest and his lungs constrict. "I'm so sorry Dickie."

"Cassie, what did you do?" Dick whispered.

"Bye Dick." Then she hung up.

"Cass? Cassie? CASSIDY!?" Dick cried into the speaker but there was no reply. He launched himself off his bed and out of his room. He flew down the stairs and nearly knocked Alfred over.

"I say, Master Dick-"

"Alfred, call nine one one, tell them to send and ambulance twenty-one fifty-seven Baker street." Dick said as he pulled open the front door, ignoring Alfred's cries.

Gotham blurred past him as he flew down the sidewalk. He kept praying over and over that he wasn't too late. He reached the front door of an old Victorian house and jiggled the handle. Acting quickly, he kicked the door in and ran up the stairs. "Cassidy!" He cried, checking her room, empty. He tried the bathroom, locked. "Cassie," he shouted. When he receive no answer, he busted in and was met with a sight he will never be able to get out of his head. Cassidy was lying on the white tiles, soaked in blood.

"CASSIE!" Dick cried as he rushed in and gathered her up in his arms. She moaned. Dick's eyes trailed over her damage body and he wanted to throw up. Words had been carved into her arms, legs and torso; slut, whore, fat, ugly, unloved, not wanted. Those were just what he could see.

"Dick?"

The sound of his name tore his attention away from the letters to the girl barely conscious. Blue eyes met chocolate brown. "Yeah, it's me." He said struggling to keep his voice steady.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"A friend of mine is in trouble, where else would I be?" He said with a shaky laugh.

"I thought you would be with Barbara."

"You need me." Dick said as he maneuvered his hands to try to stop the worst of the bleeding without letting her go. "Why would you do this?"

"Nobody cares about me. Nobody loves me. Everyone would be better off if I wasn't here." She said her voice growing fainter.

"No no Cassie, I care. I care about you." Dick said. "I care, I always have. What made you think I didn't?"

"You were always with Barbara. I thought I was just invisible."

"No Cassie, you were never invisible. What about our plans? We were going to go the carnival, remember? We can't go without you." Dick said trying to fight back tears.

"Yes you can."

"What if I don't want to?" Dick cried as tears slipped out. "Please Cassie, don't make us go without you."

"I'm so sorry, Dick." She said before her eyes slid shut.

Dick began to panic. "No no no no Cassie. Cassie, look at me. Open your eyes and look at me." Dick cried. "Please." He whispered. He buried his face in her hair and sobbed.

BREAKLINE

It was a whole ten minutes before the paramedics arrived and by then she had already grown cold. They tried to resuscitate her but it was no use, she was already gone. Mr. and Mrs. Moyer came in shortly after, crying and screaming for their little girl to come back. Commissioner Gordon and some officers of the GCPD came and took some photographs. They took down Dick's testimony before they turned to the parents.

Dick had retreated to her room. It seemed so much colder than the last time he was here. They had gotten together to study for an exam and had ended up messing with her camara, taking a bunch of silly pictures. That was yesterday. He had just seen her yesterday and hadn't known what she was planning. Some master detective he was. She had hidden it so well.

Dick's eyes glanced over the photos on her desk before they landed on her computer. He may not have been able to stop, but he sure as heck wasn't going to let this go unnoticed.

BREAKLINE

Leaves crunched under his feet as he marched up to her table, carefully going over different breathing techniques to keep himself calm. They weren't working very well. He had spent the last few nights going through Cassie's computer and what he found caused him to put a few holes in the walls.

Cassie's Facebook page was filled with hateful messages and videos from a lot of the more popular kids at school, but most of them came from Amanda Vicks, queen of Gotham Academy. She had always teased Cassie about anything and everything and Dick did everything he could to defend Cass, but it looks like it wasn't enough. He was going to make sure that Amanda knew what she had done.

Dick stopped a few feet away from the table and called her name. "Amanda,"

A pretty pink blond with perfect make-up and nails turned. She gave him a smile that made his skin crawl. "Dickie, hey, what brings you to our table? Would you care to join us?" She said a seductively as she could.

"No," Dick said coolly.

She stood and walked towards him. She placed her hands on his chest and leaned into him. Dick clinched his fisted to keep himself from shoving her away. He stepped back and glared at her. "Oh come on," she said. "What's with that look? Is it because of what I said to that girl the other day? Okay, it might not have been the nice thing I've ever said, but come on, that outfit was just atrocious."

"She's dead." Dick said.

Amanda's eyebrow raised but she just smiled and crossed her arms.

"She committed suicide last week, because of you." He spat.

Amanda scoffed. "Because of _me_?!"

Dick tossed a stack of papers at her and they spread out at her feet. Her smile quickly disappeared. And wicked smirk appeared on Dick's face. "What's wrong Amanda? Don't recognize you own name? It's there at least two hundred times, along with over three thousand words that you posted on her wall."

"So, they're just words." Amanda said defensively.

Dick felt his blood boil. "Just words? Oh no, they are much more than that. Words kill. Your words killed Cassie. Slut, Whore, Ugly, Fat, how about my personal favorite, Unwanted. Why did you lie to her?" Dick said getting closer with every word. "Why?"

By now a crowd had formed, but Dick ignored them. Amanda glanced around nervously. "There just words, Dick. What can a few words do?"

Dick scoffed. "I'll show you." He took out a stack of photos and threw them on top of the papers. A couple of people who could see them gasped. Amanda's eyes widened in horror. "What's the matter Amanda? Don't recognize your own handy work? Those were all over her body."

Amanda's hand flew to her mouth as tears cascaded down her cheeks. A boy broke through the crowd and ran up to Amanda and wrapped her in his arms. "What wrong with you Grayson? What gives you the right?" the boy spat.

"I was there." Dick growled. It got deathly silent as Dick spoke. "I sat with her. I held her in my arms as she died and that whole time she kept saying sorry. Sorry for who she was, for believing everything that was said to her, for hurting me." The last part was cut off by a sudden lump in his throat but he swallowed it down.

"Her parents came home screaming her name, begging that she come back to them. That she would get up off that floor and hug them, but she didn't." He whispered. He walked up to Amanda and stood before for her. She eventually opened her eyes and looked at him. "You didn't just hurt one person Amanda, you hurt hundreds. You didn't hold the knife that killed her. You didn't carve the words into her skin, but you may as well have."

Dick paused for a moment then continued. "Sticks and stones may break my bones but the words you say will kill me. Think about that the next time you feel like putting someone down because they just might end up six feet under."

And with that, Dick turned and walked away.

**I know that this was a bit dark but this is a serious issue. I didn't mean to offend anyone with this and it wasn't my intention, but I have been in Dick's position. Now, thankfully, my Cassie didn't die but there a many times that I can't help but imagine what would have happened if she had. Many times have I imagined going to the people that made her even think about taking her own life and doing something similar to what Dick did.**

** Bullying is not something to laugh at or joke about. It is a serious issue and it not only hurts the person being bullied but also those that are close to them. If you see someone being bullied, please, don't hold your tongue, don't stand by and watch because you never know what the person is thinking. You never know if you see them tomorrow.**

** If you are doing the bullying, STOP! You may feel like the king of the world when you see them cry but you are doing nothing but slowly killing them. No one deserves that, No One. **

** If you are the one being bullied, please, there is no shame in asking for help. There are people out there who love you and care about you. Don't hurt them, let them help you. That's all they want. Find someone you trust, that you can confide in. It will be worth it.**

** That's the end of my rant, please review. **

** Soundtrack for this fanfiction: Read All About It. Part 3 by: Emeli Sande**


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